It’s been a while since I visited Lake Okareka. I’ve fallen into the trap of not going because it’s too easy so I wait until things seem perfect and put if off to another day if anything else seems to have priority. The best stimulus for a trip is having Edin at home as we are then time constrained to have to make the most of the opportunity. A trip to a photography presentation in Hamilton gave us a short notice justification to meet and fetch her home for a day so an Okareka excursion was catalysed.

My last visit to Okareka was with her at Easter and we found the lake level higher than I can ever recall. This time it was even higher with parts of the boardwalk under water which had the benefit of limiting foot traffic. Every visit is different and I have never come away without at least one photo that I have been pleased to get. This time was no different with opportunities on Black Swans on smooth water against the lovely green reflected hills, a Fantail foraging in the Manuka and opportunities on flying Black Swans and flying Canada Geese. We even had a chance on a Mallard flying with a pair of Grey Teal but didn’t convert that opportunity into anything useful.

The flooded margins revealed some reflections that were worth exploring despite it being difficult to isolate compositions amongst the drowned grasses and reeds. A 500mm f4 lens on a DX crop body giving a 750mm equivalent focal length is not a usual tool for this type of image but can work when it’s all you have.

All photos with Nikon D500 and Nikon 500mm f4VR. As much as I love my Nikon 300mm f4PF, the 500mm is a gorgeous beast. But it is a beast to lug around.

As I was about to publish this I got an email notification of Edin’s post for the week. It’s worth reading and has some of her pictures of this little shared adventure.